China’s stock market, worth over $11 trillion, has become a major hurdle for consumers to boost spending. The reason lies in the poor long-term performance of the nation’s equities, which have discouraged saving and driven people to hoard cash instead. Despite a recent rally, Chinese indexes still lag behind levels seen after the 2008 financial crisis. A $10,000 investment in the S&P 500 Index a decade ago would now be worth triple that amount, but a similar investment in China’s CSI 300 benchmark would only yield around $3,000. This has led to consumers prioritizing saving over spending, making it challenging for leaders like Xi Jinping and Donald Trump to encourage more consumer spending.
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-17/china-s-11-trillion-stock-market-is-a-headache-for-both-xi-and-trump